Regional Coordinator for
churches in NE, SD, MT, CO:
Janelle Ortman
Shalom Readers Club
44529 - 280th St.
Marion SD 57043
ojortmangwtc.net
Regional Coordinator for
churches in MN, IA, IL, WI:
Ellen K. Miller
Shalom Readers Club
2131 Grand Blvd.
Waterloo, IA 50701
ellenkmillergmail.com
Check out books from:
Shalom Readers Club
Central Plains Mennonite Conference
Box 101, Freeman, SD 57029
Phone: (605) 925-4463
officecentralplainsmc.org
Shalom Readers Club Teaching Peace, Forgiveness and Justice through Reading
Adult leaders help children aged 4 through 14 select and read books from a list specially chosen to teach core Christian values from an Anabaptist understanding. If children read seven books and give reports on two of them, they may earn a gift book of their choice from the list.
The Bible teaches us much about peace, love and justice. We believe that Christ mandated a new perspective and practice in response to these issues. The Hebrew word for this is “Shalom”. We hope that by reading these books you will discover new ways of looking at the world as you learn about people in other lands and other times.
We desire that youth will become aware of the religious, social, and cultural issues that people face in our age that are, in fact, ageless. By reading these books, questions will be raised about international events, world history, and God’s vision that will promote a discussion about faith in Jesus and what it means to be a disciple of the risen Christ in today’s world. The selection of these books does not necessarily imply an endorsement of the practices and beliefs of the characters in the book. However, readers are presented with opportunities for discussion about issues of race, poverty, class distinctions, conflict, and cultural differences that divide us. We believe that Jesus Christ calls us to a new way of relating to each other--the way of Shalom.
As parents, pastors, teachers, and other caring adults talk with the youth as they read, inter-generational conversations will open doors of understanding. Children who cannot yet read will need to have an adult read the books to them. These stories may also be reinforced through drama in classrooms, or in children’s stories in worship services. This can be a community effort in the church whereby all benefit.
Children who have already been a Shalom Club Reader in past years should read new books this year.
Acknowledgements are given to “The Christian Peace Elf” project and the book, The Most Wanted Peace Books, written by and copyrighted by David Hiebert, 1988. The Shalom Reader’s Club was designed after the model which David Hiebert prepared especially for the Allegheny Mennonite Conference.
Thank you to Joan Friesen and Cathy Wismer Epp, both of Henderson, NE, for researching peace and justice books and choosing those to include in the list.
The Shalom Readers Club program is sponsored by the Outreach and Service Committee of the Central Plains Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church, USA.
